6-2 Blog: Marketing Perspective

The Influencer and Marketing

In the past, celebrities were defined as larger than life people. They were the people you see on TV and the people you see live in concert. However, the rise in the use of social media created the rise in popularity of regular everyday people. Someone who otherwise, would never have become a celebrity.

For instance, David Dobrik. He was a Vine star before that app ceased existing and then transitioned into becoming a YouTube vlogger. He has partnered with and been sponsored by various companies like EA, SeatGeek, Playstation, and Honey – just to name a few. He is what we have come to define as an influencer. As of today, David has 14.4 million followers on Instagram and 18.6 million subscribers on YouTube. If you check out his YouTube channel, he averages anywhere from 10 million to 20 million views PER VIDEO! I have been following David religiously since his Vine days. I think he is funny and brightens my day when I see his posts. 

What do I notice about influencer marketing?

Once upon a time, Influencers were simply just called creators. They created some fun and entertaining videos to either blow off steam or show off their creativity. These creators gained our trust, warmed our hearts, and made us feel as though we were a part of their families. Companies quickly began to realize the influence that these creators had over society. A creator would state they like a product, perhaps a specific drink like orange Fanta, and the company that owned the product would see an increase in sales.

What I have noticed about this specific type of marketing is the greed it emplaces in creators. They begin to endorse products that they have never even seen or used – as Gabbie Hanna did. She promoted makeup brushes from a brand that she had never heard of nor had she ever seen or used the makeup brushes. In short, the company was a scam and caused her followers to lose their hard-earned money when they paid for brushes that they never actually received. The few followers that did receive the brushes, received ones that easily fell apart and felt extremely cheap for what they paid.

What strategies are they employing?

At first, we would only see ads placed at the beginning of each video. Then we would get ads in the middle of videos. Then came paid partnerships. This was about the time that the word Influencer came about to describe these people. Influencers would get paid to talk about a product in a video, have a product in their video, or post about a product on social media.

More commonly today, we see sponsorships that the one that David Dobrik has with SeatGeek. At the beginning of every video where David either gets tickets to an event for his friends or buys them a brand-new car, he would spend a few minutes talking about SeatGeek. He would tell his audience about what SeatGeek offers and how if they use his special code, they will get a certain percentage off of their purchase. On top of this, every time someone uses David’s code, he gets a profit for it. This is a brilliant strategy that this marketing employs. Make a deal with an influencer that millions of people trust and then exploit that trust to make sales, whether the influencers actually use or even like the product for that matter. 

What role do these influencers play in marketing?

Influencers are the bread and butter of this type of marketing. At first, they began marketing to us without us even noticing – that was how much we trusted them! We would fall in love with these creators and begin to follow their daily lives. We would watch daily vlogs, check out their daily postings, and find every way to be apart of their lives that they allowed. These influencers would now use this trust to make money off of the marketing. Influencers post a photo or video about the product to increase sales for the company and to increase the profit that they receive from the company. The influencers become an advocate for the company – much like David Dobrik and SeatGeek.

How does the use of marketing perspective impact the relationship between the company and consumer?

Gone are the days that a company simply tells a consumer what to buy. With the rise in technology, the consumer easily has access to research and information on various products and various companies. The consumer can now easily compare products online and see which one they would rather buy. To keep up with this, companies have hired a middle man to get more sales – this middle man is the influencer. The influencer becomes an advocate for the company and gets the company new consumers to make purchases. If the influencer promotes a company or product that is a flop – like Gabbie Hanna – it can permanently damage the relationship between the company and consumer.